Volunteers needed for two committees to oversee H1 School Bond expenditures. 

H1 Citizen’s Oversight Committee

[Members to be chosen by the Board of Education]

The Piedmont Unified School District is soliciting applications for the H1 Facilities Bond Citizens’ Oversight Committee (COC).

Measure H1 was passed under the rules of Proposition 39, which directs that the Board of Trustees appoint an independent Citizens Oversight Committee (COC) to monitor bond expenditures. As provided in Education Code Section 15278, the role for the COC is to provide oversight of the District’s use of Measure H1 Bond proceeds and report to the Board and public on their findings.  Specifically, the COC will ensure that all funds are used in support of the projects included in the bond measure and not for unspecified projects or general operating expenses.

The 12-member COC is comprised of individuals from local businesses, senior citizen organizations, organizations involved with schools, a tax payers’ organization, legal, technical, and financial advisors, as well as involved parents of children residing in the Piedmont Unified School District. The COC will meet quarterly at a minimum. Members must be able to serve up to a two-year term.

The COC will also review the annual independent audits that are required of general obligation bond funds, make physical inspections of bond program projects during construction, review related District documents to gather information for the preparation of reports to the community, and report to the Board of Education annually on the activities of the committee.

Application Process:

A Citizen’s Oversight Committee (COC) application may be submitted for consideration using the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/9uTQnDWST465THCE2

The President and Vice President of the PUSD Board of Education will select participants from the pool of applicants.

Applications are due by January 18, 2017.

The application process and selection timeline will be announced at the December 8^th Budget Advisory Committee Meeting, the December 14^th and January 11^th Board of Education meetings, and the school bulletins. It will also be posted on the District Website.

The first COC meeting will occur in early February of 2017.

If the public has any questions, please contact Randall Booker, Superintendent at 510.594.2614 or rbooker@piedmont.k12.ca.us

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H1 Facilities Steering Committee

[This second committee will be chosen by the Superintendent and Director of Facilities. ]

On November 8, 2016, the voters approved Measure H1, authorizing the District to sell up to $66 million in school construction bonds.  The District will use bond funds to modernize and improve school facilities to better support our education programs.  We are extremely grateful for community support for these vital improvements, and we’re looking forward to getting started.

As part of the H1 Bond planning, we are developing two committees to assist in this work:  H1 Facilities Steering Committee and the H1 Citizen’s Oversight Committee.  While we are posting this information on the PUSD Website and the Piedmont Portal, as well as emailing all families in the District, I wanted to make sure that you had this information (see below) about how community members could submit an application.

Lastly, I want to direct you to the Board packet from December 14, 2016.  Under item VIII.A. H1 Facilities Bond – Next Steps, the District provided the Board with a timeline for work related to the H1 Bond, including how the public can submit an application to either the H1 Citizen’s Oversight Committee or the H1 Facilities Steering Committee.  I’ve provided the link below for the corresponding memo to the Board regarding H1 Facilities Bond – Next Steps.

https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting/Attachments/DisplayAttachment.aspx?AttachmentID=510549&IsArchive=0

By clicking on this link, it will ask you to download a pdf file.  This file is the memo to the Board.  You can also access this memo by visiting the Board Agenda page at:

https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=1241&MeetingID=39841&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 Sincerely,

Randall Booker, Superintendent Piedmont Unified School District

At their December 19, 2016 meeting, the City Council will consider “borrowing of funds from the California State Water Resources Control Board” to pay for sewer improvements. The State has approved the loan request.

The Piedmont City Charter states:

SECTION 4.13 TEMPORARY LOANS  Money may be borrowed in anticipation of the receipts from taxes during any fiscal year, by the issue of notes, certificates of indebtedness or revenue bonds; but the aggregate amount of such loans at any time outstanding shall not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the receipts from all taxes during the preceding fiscal year; and all such loans shall be paid out of the receipts from taxes for the fiscal year in which they are issued.

SECTION 4.14 BONDED DEBT LIMIT  The City shall not incur an indebtedness evidenced by obligation bonds which shall in the aggregate exceed the sum of twenty (20) percent of total assessed valuation for purposes of City taxation, of all the real and personal property within the City, exclusive of any indebtedness that has been or may hereafter be incurred for the purposes of acquiring, constructing, extending or maintaining municipal utilities, for which purpose a further indebtedness may be incurred by the issuance of bonds, subject only to the provisions of the State Constitution and of this Charter. No bonded indebtedness which shall constitute a general obligation of the City may be created unless authorized by the affirmative votes of a majority of the electors voting on such proposition at any election at which the question is submitted to the electors and unless in full compliance with the provisions of the State Constitution, other State laws and this Charter.

Staff reports:

12/19/16 – Consideration of Actions Related to the Approval of the Sanitary Sewer Phase 5 Rehabilitation Project:

a. Approval of Installment Agreement # D16-01021

b. Authorization for City Administrator to Execute Documents

c. Approval of Construction Documents

Now that H1 has passed, let us refocus our efforts on seeing that our new facilities are fastidiously maintained.  A certain amount of the tackiness, general seediness and carpet smell in certain areas comes from a low level of janitorial care.  Smudgy windows and chipped paint take very little effort to correct.

The slightest nick in the indoor trim at the White House has somebody with a tiny paintbrush, the size found in a child’s watercolor paint box, meticulously dabbing on a swoosh of white paint.  All the trim in the White House is white and of the same shade to facilitate this low-tech remedy.  If it’s good enough for the White House, it should be good enough for the schools of Piedmont.

With the tens of millions of dollars that are going to be spent, it’s not too much to expect, that our new facilities will have somebody assigned to administer the “white glove” test to every room the way they do at the Ritz. Our students and faculty deserve the best, as well as the generous citizens of Piedmont that are paying for it.

   Sunny Bostrom-Fleming, Piedmont Resident

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Congratulations to all who participated in the Piedmont election!

Elected to the City Council:

Jen Cavenaugh 

Bob McBain

Elected to the School Board:

Sarah Pearson

Cory Smegal

Andrea Swenson

Piedmont School Bond Measure H1 was readily approved by voters.

Official final election results will not be available for days, however the final election results are unlikely to change.

Updated election results can be viewed at:

http://acgov.org/rov/current_election/230/

Click on City – Piedmont – Members, City Council and Members, School Board.

Click on Measures – Bond Measure H1, Piedmont USD. 

A Response to Attacks on Measure H1 – 

Measure H1, if approved by voters, will provide funds for needed improvements in our school facilities.  Anyone who has visited Piedmont High School recently is aware of the need.  In recent editions of the Piedmont Post, various writers have raised questions about Measure H1.  I’d like to address the matters raised.

First, there are complaints that Measure H1 does not provide sufficient specificity about the specific projects that will be funded.  In fact, Measure H1 is quite specific, starting with “Construction of a new Piedmont High School building, focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (“STEAM”) with size, scope and location to be determined following additional public input,” and going on to list expenditures all of which focus on school facilities.  See page A-3, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-vdk-LUzFEkMFlKS1RpeGNFOGc/view.  Further details are found in the Facilities Steering Committee Recommendation, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-vdk-LUzFEkSXg2cDVfWTg0dTA/view.

Second, one writer contends that the District has provided “no cost estimates.”  Not true.  Following the year-long Facilities Master Planning process, a conceptual Master Plan was prepared, and a cost estimate to accomplish what is in that Master Plan is posted here, http://www.piedmont.k12.ca.us/facilities/pusd-facilities-master-planning/.  Because the estimated cost to accomplish everything in the Master Plan is more than the District can afford, the District convened a Facilities Steering Committee, including community experts, to review the Master Plan, consider conceptual designs and priorities, and make recommendations to the Board.  The Committee’s recommendation led to Measure H1’s priority list and the desire for community input on how best to meet our priority needs within budget.

Third, a writer suggests the District should have a specific design for voters to review, asserting: “Make the supporters come back with a specific plan and viable cost estimates.  The rebuild of Havens Elementary School worked out just fine and within budget.”  In fact, what happened with Havens is what would happen here if H1 is approved.  Just like with the Seismic Bond program, the District has no money to pay for even conceptual design drawings unless and until a bond measure is approved and bonds sold.  Even more to the point, the history of the Havens rebuild is as follows–the voters approved the Seismic Bond, community input was sought, community member Mark Becker stepped forward with a great design, and community member Andy Ball agreed to a maximum guaranteed price that allowed the Board to go forward knowing that sufficient funds would exist for all three elementary schools.  It is exactly that kind of community engagement the Board hopes to see.  We have a lot of smart, creative and civic-minded people in Piedmont, and we want their participation in developing the facilities to educate our children for the coming decades.

Fourth, FIDES (whoever they are) claims that teachers, students and parents had limited opportunities for input into classroom and facility needs.  Not so.  Rather, teachers were deeply engaged in the process, see Appendix C of the Educational Specifications Report,http://www.piedmont.k12.ca.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2.1-Piedmont-Ed-Specs_FINAL-2016.02.10..pdf .  The District held eight meetings for parents, students, and the public to provide input, held at each school site, plus two community engagement meetings.  In addition, a Board workshop and multiple Board meetings sought input on facility plans.  See page 25 of http://www.piedmont.k12.ca.us/aboutpusd/agenda.minutes/15-16/FacilitiesMasterPlanPres2015.10.28%20PUSD_Board.pdf.  In short, there were numerous opportunities to provide public comment.

Fifth, FIDES asserts that the “full master plan” is not “cost effective,” based upon on a comparison to construction of unknown facilities in unknown other states.  This makes no sense.  Detailed design and competitive construction bids will ensure that the District obtains needed facilities with proper quality at the market price.  The claim that Measure H1 creates “wasted spending” is incorrect.  FIDES asserts that Alan Harvey Theater (AHT) was “made compliant,” but is “slated for demolition in the published plan.”  AHT was not “made compliant,” but rather had its seats, stage floor and some equipment improved with donated funds.  If AHT is demolished (as yet unknown), the seats and equipment can be re-used.  The FIDES assertion that $3 million in “furniture, fixtures and equipment purchased under recent renovations” will be replaced is dubious.  Very little of Piedmont High School (PHS) was renovated under the Seismic Bond program, and PHS will be the focus of work under Measure H1 if it passes.  Some Internet cabling may be replaced, but routers, servers, etc. can be re-used until obsolete.

Finally, FIDES complains about a lack of “clarity,” asserting that the published plan is “no longer current.”  In fact, the published conceptual plan remains exactly that, one conceptual plan.  Additional concepts are discussed in the Facilities Steering Committee’s report, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-vdk-LUzFEkSXg2cDVfWTg0dTA/view.  Further concepts almost certainly will be proposed in the community engagement that would follow a community vote in favor of Measure H1.  This should be celebrated, not feared.  When this community works together to achieve a goal, it can achieve great things.  There was angst regarding Havens Elementary School—whether to renovate or replace, what would a replacement look like, and what would it cost.  After a lot of discussion and community involvement, we have a beautiful new Havens Elementary School and beautifully renovated Wildwood and Beach Elementary Schools.

I encourage everyone to vote in favor of Measure H1.

Rick Raushenbush, Member of Piedmont School Board

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.  PCA does not support or oppose ballot measures.

Measure H1 School Parcel Tax:  

Piedmont’s School Facilities Master Plan Bond Measure is on the November 8 ballot.

For: ——————–

Supporters of Measure H1 ask Piedmont residents to support H1 to permit critical repairs, renovations, and upgrades to all of Piedmont’s schools.

The supporters of Measure H1 have provided information here, which includes potential parcel tax rates.  Facilities Plan here. 

The final tour of H1 needs is Thursday, October 27 at the Piedmont High School Student Center, 800 Magnolia Ave.  A 4:00 pm informative presentation with Q&A will be followed at 5:00 pm by a Campus Tour.

Against: —————-

Opponents of Measure H1 note Piedmont has the highest school taxes in California and Measure H1 would significantly increase school taxes potentially deterring home buyers.  The opponents also claim that the measure is in violation of Article XIII- A of the California Constitution because it does not identify the specific projects to be funded.

A requirement that the proceeds from the sale of the bonds be used only for the purposes specified in Article XIII A, Section 1(b)(3), and not for any other purpose, including teacher and administrator salaries and other school operating expenses.

(B) A list of the specific school facilities projects to be funded and certification that the school district board, community college board, or county office of education has evaluated safety, class size reduction, and information technology needs in developing that list.

The opponents of Measure H1 have provided information here.

To gain further information, Piedmont residents can read the voter pamphlet, go on a school tour (see above), read the background on the Facilities Master Plan here,  read about opposition to the bond measure, and consult websites.

Editors Note: PCA does not support or oppose ballot measures.

VOTE FOR ONE, TWO, OR THREE!

If you have not yet decided which candidates for School Board or City Council to vote for, the following links beside each candidate’s name will provide the latest information from the candidates.  

Voters are not required to vote for two or three candidates in each race. Depending on a voter’s choice, a voter can cast a vote for only one candidate in each category.

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

  You are allowed to vote for 2. 

Sunny Bostrom-Fleming – > information

Jen Cavenaugh – > www.Jen4Piedmont.com

Jonathan Levine – > www.levineforpiedmont.com

Bob McBain – > www.mcbaincitycouncil.com

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CANDIDATES FOR BOARD OF EDUCATION

You are allowed to vote for 3. 

Julie Caskey – >  julie4piedmont.com

Sarah Pearson – >www.VoteforSarahPearson.com

Cory Smegal – > www.voteforcorysmegal.com

Andrea Swenson – > swensonforschoolboard.org 

Hari Titan – > HariTitan.com

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Watch the Piedmont League of Women Voters forum by clicking > here. 

Editors Note:  The Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose candidates for public office or ballot measures.  PCA remains neutral on ballot measures and is not a partisan either for or against ballot measures. Further, PCA has no affiliation with political parties or politically associated organizations. Information provided on this website is for the benefit and engagement of Piedmont residents.